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Dear forum,

I've had an 80's JC-120 for a good while now. And I was/am incredibly happy with it.

The thing is though. I got myself an English Muff'n for nice tube OD/Dist tones and it does those magnificently. But when I set my amp up (fairly neutral EQ, Reverb halfway) my fuzzes/non tube OD's when used solo are very muffled and seem like they're staying at the back of the amp. I end up running them in front of my Muff'n to get a more present sound at the same volumes.

Now I don't play live so it's not a huge bother and I still love the amp. But I'm pissed I got a transistor amp only to end up having to run all my dirt through a Tube preamp. Is it just the curse that comes with SS amps or is there some clever EQ-ing that can be used to fix this tonal issue?

Any and all help is appreciated!

Yeah, while you might not necessarily always need a tube pedal in your chain, with that amp, you probably do want to find something that's designed to be used as a preamp. Any of the Tech 21 stuff would probably be great for this. Also, Carl Martin makes a pedal called the Rock Bug that is suppose to act as a preamp for going direct into computers, PAs, power amps, etc. Definitely check that out. The Rock Bug is suppose to be real neutral sounding, just imparting a clean, clear tube quality when needed. It would probably do the trick for you.

as we've both said before, our amps are similar and in weird ways related.
I find that mine, however, LOVES pedals.
spend some quality time isolating the problem and go from there, EQ it as needed and try all manner of different configurations to figure out whats up.
if all else fails I can take a look at it for you, I'll even pay shipping.
<.<

I learned a nifty trick with EQing the 120s is to roll back the treble and bass and the adjust the mids to taste.

Mine's at 9:00, 2:00, 9:00 right now.

I bet an old EHX Hot Tubes would work wonders in front of that amp.

Thanks guys!

For the people offering preamp ideas. Thanks also but like I said I have a tube pre-amp but I don't want to have this nice SS amp only to run everything through a separate pre-amp. I'll try the EQ tip from Futuresailors and go from there

Also Rubes. I'm serious. You come over here and you can do whatever you want with that amp

Mine is currently a bit broken and needs repair but only in certain parts of the circuit, If I switch the chorus/vibrato on and roll the knobs all the way back so I get a lean sound it sounds full and awesome although if I run into the first channel or the second without the chorus/vib on it sounds very thin and almost like the two speakers are out of phase or something, it's worth giving it a go to see if it's the cause of your back of the amp problem or if it enhances your sound in anyway.

devnulljp wrote:I bet an old EHX Hot Tubes would work wonders in front of that amp.

Fun fact! The old hot tubes pedal is based on the same CMOS chip that's in the Red Llama. Smokin! I second this recommendation.

To the OP: I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. The amp sounds good with your other fuzzes and ODs, but they now sound "less than" next to the muff'n?

Well no not really.

I'm having a hard time getting my fuzzes to sound good without having the Muff'n on as well. So they sound fine and great and present when it's on but I feel like it's a bit of a waste of potential with the amp if I can't run a fuzz into it without muff'n and get a good tone.

It's hard to describe but without the Muff'n the sound is more muffled, less defined, less present

ah, I get it (I think).

My opinion: the JC120 is a glorious sound. Try to set up a good "base" clean tone that you're totally happy with. Then start adding fuzz pedals. Throw any ideas you had about your previous (fuzz pedal) settings out the window and just start from scratch. If you don't like the way the fuzzes sound, then you have to make a decision: do you go with the amp you love or the pedals you love? You may have to accept that those fuzz pedals, in the rig with that specific amp and your guitar(s), may not bond well.

jdavyd wrote:ah, I get it (I think).

My opinion: the JC120 is a glorious sound. Try to set up a good "base" clean tone that you're totally happy with. Then start adding fuzz pedals. Throw any ideas you had about your previous (fuzz pedal) settings out the window and just start from scratch. If you don't like the way the fuzzes sound, then you have to make a decision: do you go with the amp you love or the pedals you love? You may have to accept that those fuzz pedals, in the rig with that specific amp and your guitar(s), may not bond well.

Tomorrow will be a day spent redefining my tone then!

Thanks for the tips guys!